Chapter One

We connected immediately. I became so much a part of her that I couldn't imagine ever being separated. My heart beat so fast from the very beginning. I was warm and protected. I knew I was loved. Her sweet voice was soothing to me, and I would lie very still, awaiting her whispered tones that assured me I would be okay.

I knew when she became very tense. Was she in pain? Something was wrong! These were the times I lay perfectly still. That troubled her.

As I grew, her gentle but strong hands cradled me almost constantly. I could hear her repeat my name over and over, from early morning to late evening. She recited words upon words. Jesus was another name I with which I became familiar. Many years later, I still remembered the "words" that became a very important part of my life. They were called "prayers."

The days were getting closer when I would have to be left on my own. I began to hear unceasing sobbing. Her cries increased with intensity but soon became muffled, as if her face was buried under a feather pillow so no one could detect her pain.

I became very frightened. I imagined myself swirling round and round, waiting for her gentle hands to comfort me again, waiting for the sweet sound of her voice to utter those familiar words again—the words that always ended with the name Jesus. Again, like so many other nights in the past month, she cried herself into a deep sleep. I lay perfectly still. As if an alarm went off, she awoke with a start, mumbled some words to me that I had not heard before, and fell off to sleep—but not without ending with that name again: Jesus.